This is one way to make sure you are not traded before the July 31 deadline. New York Mets ace starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Sunday with hand, foot and mouth disease.

This is not a drill. It actually happened. And according to this one report, Syndergaard might have contracted the disease while volunteering at a youth baseball camp during the All-Star break.

Noah Syndergaard is going on the DL with hand, foot & mouth disease. Possible he picked it up working at a kids camp over the all-star break. Perhaps why he had diminished velocity and was tired on Friday. Assistant GM John Ricco said they expect it perhaps to be just one start.

In a season that’s been filled with bad turn after bad turn for the downtrodden Mets, this has to be the most random of all stories.

Syndergaard did start for the Mets against the crosstown rival New York Yankees on Friday. He threw five innings of one-run ball. But as noted above, his velocity was down in that start. Obviously, this disease had something to do with that.

The good news here is that New York is expecting Syndergaard to miss only one start. The bad news for other teams? This might mean that he won’t be moved before the end of the month.